


Log

by yeaka



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Tarzan (1999)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 22:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Sora comes back to the deep jungle.





	Log

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Kingdom Hearts, Tarzan, or any of their contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

The tree house is looking better every day. It’s cosier than the camp ever was, though Jane grew a deep fondness for their little pitched tent with every passing night. It became her home of sorts, but the grand home built into the very tops of the tallest trees is far grander, and far more like the home she once grew up in. At first, it’s only a big open room with rotting walls and vines draping through the many cracks in the ceiling, but with Tarzan’s help, it slowly becomes the palace she once dreamed of. When she was a little girl, she wanted to be a princess in a castle, but her treetop manor is far more beautiful than her daydreams ever were. 

With several rooms now divided by sturdy walls, Jane has plenty to do. While Tarzan is off with his many friends, she busies herself sweeping the floors, straightening the shelves, designing new improvements and working on the second novel she plans to send back to England. She’s now published several papers, becoming the foremost expert on gorillas and wild animals about the jungle, but her literary pursuits have since evolved into the occasional fictional exploit. She’s in the study penning her new manuscript’s third chapter when she hears a tentative knock on the door.

That’s enough to offer surprise. The gorillas never knock, and Tarzan’s still adjusting to the very concept of a door. It occurs to her that he might be trying to show good manners, imitating something he picked up on in one of her books, and so she heads there with a smile on her face. While it’s sometimes grating to have to teach her boyfriend every little thing, generally speaking, his gradual change in culture is an adorable thing to witness.

She opens the door with a ready, “Hello,” but cuts off when she sees who’s on the other side. It’s an entirely different white male with brown hair. The rounded face and big bright eyes look familiar, but it still takes her a moment to place him—he’s grown quite a bit since she last saw him. “Sora? Is that you?”

“Yup,” Sora greets, exactly as perky as she remembers him. He doesn’t have the enormous talking duck and dog-like creature that he did last time, which is a shame, because she now knows they couldn’t possibly be native to the jungle and must be entirely new species. Which would make for another excellent paper. Still, Sora’s quite pleasant enough company on his own, and a part of Jane is thrilled to have her first true house guest, not counting the many animals that come wandering through her door.

She steps aside and offers, “Won’t you come in?”

Sora does, and he looks around as he crosses the threshold, eyeing the hanging paintings and new walls with evident surprise and admiration. He even whistles, “Wow! You’ve done a lot with this place!”

“I certainly have,” she agrees, “although Tarzan did all the major building. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Sure, that’d be great.” He grins broadly at her, and she leads the way into the kitchen. His oversized shoes clack loudly behind her. She only has one of her original mugs left, and that one she gives to Sora, picking out a new clay concoction for herself. The kettle is still in tact. They don’t yet have running water, but she does have full buckets all over the place that she and Tarzan fill up every morning. The stove is entirely fire-based, but it works well enough, and she sets the kettle over it while she joins Sora at the kitchen table.

“So,” she starts, curious to so many things—how he came by, where he went off to last time, where his parents are. Out of politeness, she settles on a simple, “It’s been quite some time since I last saw you. You’ve certainly grown.”

“Thanks,” he chirps, beaming like it’s the best compliment he’s ever had. His hairstyle’s changed from the one in her memory, and his clothing is a bit more mature, his stature that of a late teenager rather than a child. He goes on, “Your world hasn’t popped up in a while, but then when I saw it out the gummi ship, I—uh, that is... I just wanted to see how things were doing.”

He certainly is a strange one. So were the circumstances surrounding his last arrival. But Jane’s seen too much in her new life to be bothered by it, and instead answers, “I’m doing rather well, thank you. As I’m sure you can see, Tarzan and I have made a nice life for ourselves.”

“Yeah, the place looks awesome! You haven’t been bothered by the heartless, then?”

“You mean those strange shadowy creatures that used to tear up the jungle? No, I don’t believe I’ve seen any for some time.”

“Great.” He says it like it’s perfectly normal. But then, Jane is hardly in a position to judge what’s normal. 

She tries, “Did you ever find your friends? I know how badly you wanted to see them...”

She’s relieved when he nods vigorously. “Oh yeah. It took a while, but I got there, and now we’re all great! Riku wants us to look for an apartment in Twilight Town when this is all over, but Kairi wants to go back to the islands.”

Obviously, Jane’s geography skills have grown rusty. She has no idea where he’s referring to. But she nods indulgently, then gets up to fetch the kettle when it whistles. She mixes them both a cup with a few leaves from the garden she’s potted on her balcony. When she brings them to the table, Sora grateful accepts his and takes a long, healthy swig.

Jane sips more delicately and lets a comfortable silence slip in. It’s never _truly_ silent in her house; there’s always some tropical bird cawing, some large insects humming, and the dull, ever-present thrum of the distant waterfalls. She watches Sora’s cheery expression melt from full on excitement to something softer, more adult, and then he finally looks up at her and asks, “Jane... you’re from somewhere else, right? Do you ever miss it? Home?”

The question comes completely out of left field. For a moment, Jane doesn’t know how to answer. Then she slowly explains, “Well... I suppose in a way, England will always be my home... but at the same time, I think people really are more important than places, and my true home is with Tarzan. And his place is here. So in another way, I _am_ home. ...But yes, I do occasionally miss London. I’d be chuffed if I could just have one more trip to a good high street.”

Sora nods like he understands. She doesn’t know if she’s given the answer he wanted or not, but she hopes it helps. She can tell he wasn’t just asking about her. Obviously, his last visit wasn’t just a short stint.

She tentatively asks, “Do you miss your home, Sora?”

He shrugs. “Yeah... to be honest, I kinda do...” His eyes lift from over the rim of his steaming mug. He tells her emphatically, “But I like going around and seeing new worlds too, and Riku wants to be somewhere we can do that easier... and I spent all this time searching for him that I can’t lose him now. I think Kairi’ll come with us in the end. But... my parents ‘n stuff...” he shrugs again and sort of trails off. He strikes her as a smidgen too young to already be off without his parents, but then, she’s a woman who still has a cot for her father up in the loft of her jungle tree house. And she knows Sora’s a very capable young man.

She suggests, “Well, if you save up for your own ship, I’m sure you can visit.”

He smiles knowingly. She can tell she’s missed out on something but doesn’t ask. The important thing is that he nods and seems to cheer up. “Yeah, you’re right... and I was always running off with Riku and Kairi anyway. I can’t _not_ stay with them.”

“It sounds like you have your answer, then.”

“Yeah... I think I do. You’re happy with Tarzan, right?”

Jane can honestly say, “I’ve never been happier.”

No one’s ever looked so happy for her as Sora does in that moment. His compassion is palpable and contagious. She has no doubt that he’ll do the right thing and enjoy it.

With one big gulp, he swallows down the rest of his tea. She’d be startled, except that Tarzan often eats and drinks that way too—she’s long since gotten over table manners. When he stands up, she follows and asks, “Are you heading out already?”

“I think so. I have some more friends to see before I give Riku an answer.”

“Alright.” She walks him to the door, but before he leaves, she tells him, “It was nice to see you, Sora. Do visit again sometime; I’m sure Tarzan would like to see you.”

“Thanks!” he says, and before she knows it, she’s being enveloped in a warm bear hug. With a fond chuckle, she returns it, ruffling his hair afterwards.

She waves to him as he runs over the veranda, then disappears again into the ether.


End file.
